Kilt Shirt Question

[Finistere]

Thank you all for your replies and pictures, I have had my question fully answered, thank you for taking the time. Kit

[Knouse]

Here's a great example of a classic Tattersall shirt:

Wow! I really like that shirt and tie. Very smart.

[Jock Scot]

Wow! I really like that shirt and tie. Very smart.

Just so you know, that style of shirt and tie, or perhaps a club style/Regimental tie, are often the go to choice for traditional Scots kilt wearers for smart, but not formal(dress [uk definition]) occasions. However, this style of shirt would not be worn for smart(non formal)weddings or a smart(non formal) evening event. You may also like to know shirts with button down collars are also best avoided should you wish to travel the "traditional" route.

[Father Bill]

Trouble is Jock, that the words "formal" and "dress" have been coopted by those who have no idea of what they speak. The other day at the cleaners, my dark blue and black checked short sleeve shirt was called a "dress" shirt. Good grief! It's as casual as you can get, but she explained that to her that means that it had buttons and a collar.

I took a moment to educate her.

[Jock Scot]

I am sure the education was done in the kindest of kindest way Bill.

Actually these trans-Atlantic mixing of terminologies is probably responsible for so many misunderstandings in kilt attire. I note with some disquiet, that American terminology for kilt attire is creeping in over here too. I reckon that perhaps 25% of the correspondence on this website is due to misunderstanding each other on attire terminology.

[Father Bill]

Not even sure Jock, that it's purely trans-Atlantic. Some of it seems to be trans-generational.

[Finistere]

I am sure the education was done in the kindest of kindest way Bill.

Actually these trans-Atlantic mixing of terminologies is probably responsible for so many misunderstandings in kilt attire. I note with some disquiet, that American terminology for kilt attire is creeping in over here too. I reckon that perhaps 25% of the correspondence on this website is due to misunderstanding each other on attire terminology.

Two nations divided by a common language. George Bernard Shaw, comes to mind

[Jock Scot]

Not even sure Jock, that it's purely trans-Atlantic. Some of it seems to be trans-generational.

A chicken and egg thing perhaps Bill, but since the advent of TV for all and large proportions of US TV series to be seen in the UK, plus major US influence from the internet its all hardly surprising. It actually goes back further than that, I can remember at school being severely reprimanded by my peers for chewing gum, using the term OK and people wearing jeans and T shirts was more than frowned upon. In fact, I have never worn a T shirt or a pair of jeans and I cannot bear people chewing gum. Sorry, but all this was going on in my formative years!

I well remember one of my close school friends(we still are) an American, dancing around with frustration at us using the current British slang term "US", meaning useless. He was not impressed! Even though he understood full well that we were using the first two letters of useless and not referring to his country. One needs to remember after WW2 the American dream was what everyone in bombed out, war torn, rationed Europe tried to emulate, almost anything was better than what we had. So its been going on for sometime and perhaps it will take time yet for it all to be sorted out. In the meantime----------

[The Q]

A chicken and egg thing perhaps Bill, but since the advent of TV for all and large proportions of US TV series to be seen in the UK, plus major US influence from the internet its all hardly surprising. It actually goes back further than that, I can remember at school being severely reprimanded by my peers for chewing gum, using the term OK and people wearing jeans and T shirts was more than frowned upon. In fact, I have never worn a T shirt or a pair of jeans and I cannot bear people chewing gum. Sorry, but all this was going on in my formative years!

I well remember one of my close school friends(we still are) an American, dancing around with frustration at us using the current British slang term "US", meaning useless. He was not impressed! Even though he understood full well that we were using the first two letters of useless and not referring to his country. One needs to remember after WW2 the American dream was what everyone in bombed out, war torn, rationed Europe tried to emulate, almost anything was better than what we had. So its been going on for sometime and perhaps it will take time yet for it all to be sorted out. In the meantime----------

or in the British Military and Civilian, Electronics technicians world, it is an official term, US or when written U/S means UnServiceable.

[Jock Scot]

or in the British Military and Civilian, Electronics technicians world, it is an official term, US or when written U/S means UnServiceable.

I am quite sure that is where the more general civilian slang term came from. UnServiceable = Useless.